The friendly medical assistant / receptionist who always greets me warmly called me today. She's actually the person I left a message with regarding needing "medical clearance" for my surgery. She wanted to know if I need a new EKG for the "medical clearance", or if my most recent one would suffice. I had no idea!
I realized I have no point person at the hospital where I'll be getting my surgery. I called their main number, explained my situation to the receptionist, and she connected me to the Pre-Admissions Testing person. That person listened patiently and then explained that an EKG performed within the last year is standard procedure when anesthesia will be used in surgery. So, I guess I need another one.
I called the Cancer Center back, and the same medical assistant / receptionist said she'll have the doctor put in an order for an EKG, which can be done at my already-scheduled appointment with the medical oncology NP. I was just glad I don't have to go in for a separate visit.
I found all this a little interesting because I'm pretty sure I did not get an EKG before my double mastectomy surgery. Turns out, there's wide variability in regards to which tests are performed pre-surgery, and many of them may be unnecessary. Since my double mastectomy was performed at a different hospital, I'll just assume the different hospitals have different procedures.
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